Just a Little Lovesick
by Akina Hasegawa
Summary: Lovesickness is like the common cold. It spreads like crazy. Sequal to Just a Little Crush, mainly EdWinry, with some RoyRiza and AlOC. Rated Teen for language.


(A/N) Ok, ok…I haven't gotten too many reviews for my first one yet (arigatou to the few who did!) but people are saying that, even though it was meant to be a one-shot, I should make another chapter. I thought that it'd be a waste to make another chapter—I mean, a one-shots a one-shot, right? So I did the next best thing: I made a sequel! Enjoy, Min'na-san!

**I, Akina Hasegawa, do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or it's characters. I do, however, own this story, and any characters I have added in the making of this fanfiction.**

Just a Little Lovesick 

Edward Elric lay in the soft grass under a tree a few miles out of Central City, his eyes half-closed and his mind wandering. Beside him sat his brother, Alphonse Elric, quietly waiting for Edward to stop lazing about and get back to his duties, while admiring the scenery at the same time. Ed thought it must be murder sitting out in the sun in a heavy suit of armor, but then remembered that his brother couldn't feel the intense heat, and sighed.

He sat up slowly and yawned, stretching his arms and flexing the joints on his automail arm. The thing that he couldn't get off his mind—the thing that had encouraged him to go out and get some air—was his old childhood friend, Winry Rockbell. It had been three years since he had seen her last…and so much longer since that day on the hill…The one that only the two of them knew about…

He blushed and shook his head angrily, trying desperately to get the blond off his mind. Al noticed, and cocked his head questionably.

"Nii-san?" he asked. "What's wrong? Your face is bright red. Are you all right?" Ed jumped in surprise, tying desperately to hide his blushing face.

"I-it's just the heat, Al! N-nothing more!" Al was not convinced.

"Oh?" he said, his voice sly. "What were you thinking about, Nii-san?" Ed sat for a moment, trying to get his heart to slow, then sighed, and fell back into the soft green grass.

"I guess I'm a little…homesick." He said the last word with uncertainty. Al seemed to notice his hesitation and questioned him further.

"Nii-san, you know there is no home for us back there. You've said so yourself many times. What are you really thinking about?" Ed couldn't help cursing Al in his head—oh, how he wished that just once his brother wouldn't be so hard to trick. He looked up at the sky, watching as a single white bird flew by and listening to the rustle of the leaves in the trees.

"You really want to know what I'm thinking about?" he asked Al with a hard tone. Al nodded, a little less eager now that his brother's attitude had changed. Ed hesitated for a moment, considering weather or not to tell Al the truth. He waited a moment more, as if building suspense, before making up his mind.

"I'm thinking you ask too many damn questions," he stated simply, throwing an acorn at Al. The acorn bounced off without leaving so much as a scratch, but Ed's words caught Al off guard. Before Al could question him further, Ed stood up and started racing back to Central.

"C'mon, Al!" he shouted. "Last one to Central has to kiss the Lieutenant-Colonel!" Al sat in stunned silence for a moment, watching as his brother ran off, then sprung up with lightning speed and chased after him.

"Nii-san, you dirty trickster! Get back here! Tell me the truth!"

&&&

There was both bad news and good news waiting for Ed at Central.

The bad news was Ed had lost the race—the good news was he had tricked Havoc into doing the dastardly deed instead.

The bad news was that Al wouldn't stop pestering Ed about what was on his mind—the good news was Ed had plenty of work to do to keep his mind off what had originally been on his mind.

All in all, it was pretty much boring old Central (until Havoc had to be taken to the hospital due to a dislocated jaw and singed hair from bullet fires)—All in all, it was exactly what Ed was sorry to come back to. After he was done with all his duties for that day, his mind slowly wandered back to Winry. He had no idea why he kept thinking about _her_—they were only friends. It wasn't like he loved her or anything. But then again…

Ed smacked his forehead with his right hand, which hurt quite a bit, to keep this thought from continuing on.

_That's stupid! Why would _I _be in love with Winry? _

Well, she is really nice…when she's not being a hard-ass bitch…and her eyes are really…

_Shut…up…_

Ed tried to keep the voices in his head at bay, tried to distract himself with something—anything—that could take his mind off Winry. He started cleaning his automail—but that only reminded him of how Winry was always so upset when he didn't take care of his fullmetal limbs. He sat at his desk staring at maps for almost an hour, trying to find his next destination, but his eyes kept drifting to the place on the map where his hometown was. He finally gave up trying to distract himself and went off to explore Central. Anything was better than lazing about in his room all day doing pointless research. He decided he'd go off in search of Al and then ask him to go with him into town or something. Central City wasn't the most exciting place, and he didn't have much money on him, but he could at least get away from the military operatives and the Colonel.

&&&

The Colonel, Roy Mustang, was in fact too busy with his own troubles to care weather the headstrong teen was in Central or not. He had a giant stack of paperwork on his desk that he had been working on for well over an hour, and he couldn't seem to concentrate on what he had left to complete. He kept looking out the window and sighing, the thought that he was stuck inside on such a wonderful day weighing down on him, and his mind kept wandering. He wondered vaguely if it had to do with the fact that the Lieutenant-Colonel was in the room with him, observing him to make sure he did his work.

The Lieutenant-Colonel, Riza Hawkeye, barely looked up from her clipboard, and was flipping through the pages swiftly, the only sound in the room at the moment. Roy wasn't bothered by her anti-social attitude—it was just regular Riza behavioral patterns as far as he was concerned. Even so, the silence between them bothered him greatly. He fiddled with his pen for a minute, looking at it as if it was the most fascinating thing he had seen in his life. Hawkeye did not seem to notice. Roy arched his eyebrows, putting the pen back down slowly. After a few more minutes, he started shuffling papers on his desk in quite a disrupting way. The Lieutenant-Colonel did not even flinch. Roy furrowed his brow, then, without further thought, did the most annoying thing he could think of at that moment: he yawned.

Riza finally stopped flipping through the papers on her clipboard to look up at the Colonel sternly. Roy's mind instantly went to a wizened old mother scolding a child that had just done something extremely disrespectful. He stopped yawning instantly, and tried to look innocent, taking a paper off the big stack and pretending to scan its contents. This continued on for a few more silent minutes before Riza sighed and set her clipboard on a nearby desk.

"Colonel, you have failed to finish even half of your paperwork--"

"I know, I know!" Roy said with a laugh and a slight shrug. "I'm just a little preoccupied, I guess. It's so hard to concentrate when the sun is shining so brightly outside…and when there's such a pretty girl sitting right in front of me." Riza seemed to not hear the last part of his statement.

"That's no excuse, Colonel," she said calmly. "You need to remember your duties, or you'll be working in the kitchens as a dishwasher before you can say 'Fullmetal.' Just try to concentrate." She picked up her small clipboard once more and started writing notes, Roy sulking at his desk and slowly but surely going through the massive mountain of paperwork. He looked up from time to time to see the women sitting across the room, who would always look up from her work as well to give him a look—not an unkind look, but not exactly a cruel one either. It was a simple reminder that he had work to do and he needed to get it over with fast. Once, when Roy had been near to the end of the pile, he thought he caught a glimpse of something remarkable. It was very small and vanished quickly but he was sure it had been there, dancing on her lips.

A small, secret smile.

&&&

Ed stomped through the city, a frown on his face and his fists clenched. He was in a bad mood—any passerby could see that. What was his reason, though? Was it really the heat as he said? Was it because he couldn't even buy himself a refreshing drink to cool down? One thing was for certain: it wasn't because anyone had called him short, even if that was usually the case. Alphonse followed his brother hesitantly, making sure to keep a fair distance in case his brother blew up in public. He sighed heavily—his Nii-san had been this way all day, ever since they had arrived at the Central military base, and he couldn't figure out why he was in such a bad mood. Al himself could not feel heat or sunshine in his current form, so he had no idea how hot it was or if it was the reason his brother seemed so troubled. He too had thought a little outing with his brother would be for the best, but now he didn't think it was such a good idea…

Al was so in depth with his thoughts that he didn't notice the girl in front of him, and knocked her over. After a startled moment of surprise, he turned around to apologize to the girl, hoping he had not hurt her.

"I-I'm so sorry!" he said, walking over to the girl who has now sitting on the asphalt. "I-I-I didn't mean to knock you over like that! Are you all right? I'm so sorry!" He took the girl's hand gently and lifted her to her feet, still apologizing frantically and forgetting that he had lost Ed in the crowd. After he was done talking, the girl started laughing—Al almost thought she was crying, she laughed so hard. He stood in shocked silence for a moment, knowing that if he had been flesh and blood his face would be bright red at this moment.

"Uh…Miss?" he asked cautiously. The girl wiped her eyes, which actually were beginning to tear, and looked up at him with a bright smile on her face. Al thought for a brief moment he had hurt her and she was only being polite, when she began to speak.

"Oh my! I'm sorry for laughing! It's just you gave me quite a scare, and—well—you're just so funny…!" She started laughing again, and Al could almost feel the blood rushing to his face.

"I-I'm very sorry for knocking you over…" he started to say, but the girl held up a hand and shook her head.

"Don't be. It's my fault for standing in your way. I'm just sorry you lost the person you were with." Al blinked—or would have, had he had any eyelids.

"How did you know…?" The girl giggled.

"Just a feeling. Even though you were walking quite a ways behind him, it seemed like you were watching him, protecting him from afar…or maybe protecting yourself. He did look rather angry." Al chuckled at this comment.

"Yup, that's Nii-san," he said. The girl cocked her head.

"Nii-san?" she asked, looking slightly confused. "But you're so much bigger than him. Are you sure you're not his Nii-san?" Al laughed again.

"Nii-san's just short for hi age, is all. He's a lot more experienced than me in so many things, and even though he usually doesn't act his age there are times when I feel…" He trailed off, making the girl cock her head further.

"It's okay," she said gently, "you can tell me. I won't tell." Al blushed, and nodded.

"Y…yes. But, anyway…sometimes I feel that I _should _be the older brother; then he wouldn't be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders all the time, as well as my burden." The girl stared up at him for the longest time—Al began to shuffle his feet nervously. He hoped he had not startled her with his deep words. They had just blurted out how he felt to a complete stranger—_How embarrassing_, he thought. Then, much to his surprise, the girl did the most remarkable thing—she placed a hand on his arm and smiled up at him.

Al was surprised—he would never have expected a person he had only just met to do such a thing. Such a…kindly thing. The girl continued to look up at him with smiling eyes, then pulled away gently. Al was almost sorry to have her let go—her touch, though he had not felt it, had been comforting.

"I'm sure you're not as big a burden as you think you are," she said. "I'm sure your Nii-san cares about you just as much as you care about him. It's an older sibling's job to watch over their younger siblings—it's what a family does. It's _love._" Al looked at the girl wistfully, not noticing the footsteps behind him until the person who had caused them called his name.

"Al! Where have you been? I've been searching all over this damn place for you!" Al turned around to see Ed standing behind him, his arms crossed over his chest and his foot tapping angrily on the pavement. Al bowed, feeling slightly foolish for being seen talking to a girl instead of following his brother.

"I'm sorry, Nii-san," he said, "I ran into this lady and knocked her over, and I had to apologize. I'm sorry I lost you." Ed seemed to notice for the first time that there was a girl watching them not far away, and frowned slightly. Since when did his younger brother show interest in girls?

"So," he addressed the girl, "I see you had to baby-sit my brother for me for a bit. Sorry 'bout that. I'll try harder to keep a good eye on him. Sorry if it was any trouble." The girl merely shook her head, smiling as brightly as ever.

"Oh, not at all," she said kindly. "In fact he was rather a joy to talk to. I enjoyed looking after him for awhile."

"Well, it's good to hear he didn't annoy the heck out of you," Ed said with a dry little laugh. "By the way, what's your name? I might have to call you for further services…"

"N-Nii-san! You're not serious, are you?" Al complained, his brother responding with a shake of his head and more laughter. The girl giggled before answering.

"My name is Alcione Serephine," she said, taking a little curtsy and smiling at the two brothers sweetly. Ed seemed shocked by her exotic name, but Al wasn't fazed in the least.

"I'm Alphonse. Alphonse Elric." He offered his hand for her to shake, and she took it without hesitation, shaking it gently.

"A pleasure to meet you, Alphonse." Ed, not wanting to feel unincluded, finally got over his shock and also extended his hand for shaking.

"Ah, and I'm Edward Elric, Al's big brother." The girl, Alcione, took Ed's hand willingly as well, then curtsied again to the both of them.

"I'm pleased to meet you both," she said, "but I must hurry. I'm running errands for my parents, and I mustn't dawdle. I'll see you both again I hope." Al wished more than anything that he was human, just so he could return her kind smile.

"Yes," he said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice, "we shall meet again someday, Alcione." Alcione curtsied again, but before she left she looked back at Al. There was something different about her—her face was smiling yes, but her eyes…her eyes were filled with a different emotion. Al wondered for a second if maybe she was just as sad that they were parting as he was. He didn't have much time to think about it because Ed had immediately started walking back done the street as soon as the crowd engulfed her. Al didn't have to use much effort to get past the crowd, being as big as he was—he was more concerned for Ed. Even though he worried about his brother, his mind still drifted to the girl. He just followed Ed, vaguely knowing where they were going, until Ed pulled over a classy taxi for them to ride back to central. Al just barely fit, whereas Ed felt slightly cramped. The driver gave them a skeptical look, but as soon as Ed gave him some money his mood lightened slightly.

The ride was pretty slow and quiet for the first few minutes—the Elric brothers both stared out the windows as if neither of them existed, until Ed decided to ask Al an important question.

"So, Al, I see you have a new love interest. Alcione, was it?"

Al jumped so high in his seat that the whole taxi jumped with him and nearly knocked it onto its side. The driver gave Al a dirty look but Al was too flustered to notice.

"What? How could I be in l-l-love with her, Nii-san? I only just met her!" He was flailing his arm around wildly, making Ed duck and dodge and making the car shake even more.

"Al…Al! Calm down…you moron!" Al didn't seem to hear Ed's words—he was too busy panicking. Ed sighed irritably, then clapped his hands and pressed them to Al's sides. There was a bright blue light, making the taxi jerk wildly, and when it faded there where crude iron chains around Al's arms. Al seemed to have calmed down, but he was also surprised that his brother had used alchemy on him. That didn't happen often.

"Geez, calm down," said Ed with a sly grin. "I was only asking. And haven't you ever heard of 'love at first site?'" Al still squirmed, a little unnerved by his brother's questions.

"Y-yes, but I don't love her, Nii-san…I hardly even know her." Ed starting fiddling with a loose strand of his blond hair, twisting is around his finger thoughtfully.

"Well, it sure seemed like you two were having a good time," he said. "Maybe I should have gone into that bar anyway. Would have given you a hell of a lot more time to talk to her." Al had the sudden urge to both thank his brother for his thoughts and bash him over the head for his foolishness.

"Nii-san! Going into a bar at your age is illegal! And, yes, it was having a nice conversation with her, and she was really nice and pretty but…but…Argh!" He turned away from his brother to look out his window, silently fuming. Ed chuckled to himself in satisfactory and went back to staring out his own window. They were very close to the military base when Al asked a question this time.

"Nii-san, do you…love Winry?"

Ed stood up lightning fast—then hit his head hard on the roof of the car. He sat down slowly, clutching his aching head and cursing under his breath. Al was shocked, and leaned over to see if he was all right.

"N-N-Nii-san? Are you all right? Ah, I'm so sorry, Nii-san!" Ed still mumbled incoherently, rubbing his aching head, and Al thought he had better not push the subject further. After a few more seconds worth of cursing, Ed sat upright and addressed Al.

"Of course I don't love her!" he yelled, forgetting for the moment that the driver could hear every word of their interesting conversation. "She's a friend, Al! A really great friend, but still just a friend! Why do you think I like her that way!" Al sat in shocked silence for a moment, then softened.

"I suppose," he said quietly, "that you just seemed a little worried to me. Maybe even…a little lovesick?"

"Lovesick?" spat Ed, looking out his window to avoid looking at Al or their nosy driver. "Who fills your head with this crap? I might be getting heatstroke, but lovesickness? Get real, Al! There's no way I'd feel that way about Winry! No frickin' way!" He clenched his fists and looked down at his feet, his eyes filled with regret more so then anger now.

"Besides," he said quietly, "even if I did like her, I'd only be letting her down. I have to go all over the world because I work for the military, and there are so many people after me because of my reputation." _It's because of that reputation that I can't allow myself to fall for anyone, _he thought._ I'd hate it if Al got blown up or something, but that might not be such a big dilemma--Up to a certain point, I can repair him. But Winry…if something were to happen to her, there would be no way of bringing her back. She'd be lost forever. I don't think I could stand losing them both._

The car screeched to a halt outside the base. Ed expected to hear the sound of Al opening his door, but heard nothing. He then remembered that Al's hands were still bound to their sides. There was another blue flash of light, and then both Elric brothers got out of the car. Ed had just started walking towards the building—when out of nowhere an object flew out and hit him in the head. He staggered for a moment, having received two head injuries in the past five minutes, rubbing his head and cursing so loud the security guards stared in surprise. Ed looked to see what had hit him—and, sure enough, it was a silver, slightly rusted wrench. He looked up to see a blond girl standing only a few yards away, her arms crossed over her chest and an expression that was a mixture of a glare and a sneer. Ed was shocked to see her, standing there as if by a whim, and almost hugged her. But that wouldn't have been his style. Instead, he decided to yell at her.

"What the hell is your problem?" he yelled, walking closer to her as he did so. "Throwing wrenches at defenseless guys…I haven't seen you in over three years and this is how you treat me? By throwing a wrench at--" He didn't get a chance finish his sentence because Winry had pulled him into a tight hug. He has half shocked and half embarrassed—there were other emotions mixed in, but he could only place his finger on so many at a time.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said. "How can you yell at me after we haven't seen each other for so long? You're so insensitive, Ed." Ed didn't know if she was happy to see him or upset. He hesitantly put an arm around her, not quite in control of his body.

"It's hard to give someone a warm welcome when some mechanic junkie throws a wrench at you," he said. He felt the hands on his back tighten and felt his breath run short for a second. He coughed for a second, then squeezed Winry back, making her gasp as well. The friendly hug had suddenly become a battle. Al pried them apart, telling them both off for acting like such children. The two blonds glared at each other for a moment, Ed glad that Winry had nothing more to throw at him and Winry looking like she wished she had bought another wrench before she came to Central. Then, as if there had never been any tension in the air, they both burst out laughing. Ed patted Winry on the head, smiling brightly.

"Welcome to Central, Winry." Winry smiled back, flashing him a victory sign.

"Good to be hear, Mr. State Alchemist. Now if you would be so kind as to take my bag…"

"What? Hell, no. Do it yourself."

"Whaaat!"

Al laughed gently and picked up the bag as the two continued to bicker, and followed them up the stairs to the main building. As for Ed—he was just happy to be with the person he hadn't been able to get off his mind…but he would never admit that to anyone, not even himself. He still pretended it was only heatstroke.

FIN 

(A/N) Okay, for those of you who only watch the English anime on T.V. Nii-san means older brother. That is all. XD


End file.
